MMS 173 Assignment 6: End-Blog

A portrait of faith. 

Many of my friends know that it's truly a habit of mine to blend my personal faith with the reflections I make in this world, what can I say? My faith directs my heart. This is the photo I chose and it was one of my initial choices for the self-portraiture assignment. This truly encapsulates what I felt in this course -- illuminated with knowledge and wisdom, just as the Virgin Mary did when her strength was rooted from her trust in the Lord's plan. I decided that this photo fits best with the reflection that I am about to make because as you can see from the photo, my eyes being shifted upwards to something that the audience cannot see is a testament to the faith and trust that I have built. I must say, there will always be good in this world, whether you capture it with a camera or not. 

Since we are nearing the end of the term, I guess it's best to give a special shoutout to my Ninong Rodel who gave me my Nikon D3000 camera, it was originally his but he wasn't using it anymore, and gave it to me instead. I told him that I was using the same camera he used 15 years ago, and told me my shots were actually nice considering it's a pretty old equipment. He even hinted that he might gift me a newer camera whenever he has the time! Yes, a mirrorless camera with video capture! If it does happen, I'm sure my skills in this field will improve more as I am now equipped with better functionalities. This photography class really motivated me to work with what I have, and make the best of it. Zero regrets! 

Oh, and by the way! This photography class really made me feel so connected to the people around me, because it is like my eyes are automatically framing subjects, whether it's the laughter of my grandmother, or the sonder imprinted on the faces of people in public spaces. Studying photography is really like magic, because what do you mean I can color grade and make the shot look so cinematic?! 

I thrived on following rules, I wasn't a type of person that was always carefree because things that aren't well planned and thought of scare me a lot! But one of the things that I told myself I'd work on is definitely learning how to surrender to the world, and let your camera capture what is going on the moment. I know, it's not the most ideal set-up ever, but if I wanted to be a photographer that isn't limited by my choices, I figured I have to learn how to put myself out there even when I didn't know how to start. In some of my assignments, I went to new places, I tried new techniques, and I went beyond my comfort zone. I'm really proud of myself for that. But not going to lie, I wish I could've done better on adjusting the ISO and stuff, because some of my photos looked nice on my camera screen, but when exported, it was so grainy, or blurry. I don't know if it's my poor eyesight, or do I just lack enough skills? (hehe, probably the latter.) 

Also, my most noteworthy experience in class is definitely the game photography assignment! I wasn't aware that it actually exists, because I thought people were just posting their game screenshots all over social media, without knowing that there are additional tools found within the game that are actually meant to tweak what your game looks. My Batman: Arkham Knight game even came with a depth of field slider! Wooo, it was really cool. My PC literally overheated multiple times because of that, but hey, it was all worth it. (speaking of which, I'll definitely get my PC checked one of these days...) 

I wished I attended the F2F session, as I really wanted to meet other classmates with the same hobby. But even though, I weren't able to attend there because of time constraints, I felt really belonged in the way my peers interacted with me on the forums, especially with the other assignments where critiques were required. Their constructive criticisms were really good, and never on the offensive side. It was refreshing to see that. The Zoom sessions were also fun because Prof. Al was such a nice speaker, and he's quite humorous too. This really made me feel like I am in the right class that truly fosters human connection and learning together. I wish I could've interacted more with the forums especially the ones started by my other classmates, but shyness got to the best of me. Nevertheless, it is still beneficial to me because studying in UPOU can sometimes make us feel lonely, and these efforts of reaching out are enough to remind us that we are not alone. 

Art is really everywhere, and I mean it. Look out your window, or just even look at your desk, these are pieces of story. With that being said, my most important takeaway would be that if you look too hard, you can always find little remnants of love. I think that is what makes photography such a nice field to partake in, because when you hold the camera, point it at something else, you begin to melt a part of your soul into that. There is power in capturing what you see.  It is you who captures, it is you who tells. 

This might be the last blog, but I hope to make more in the future. It's fun because I feel like I'm sharing half of my heart with the people who read them. I'd want to end this with gratitude, thank you to my classmates for being such a nice sport. Thank you to my family because they were really supportive in the things I want to do. Thank you to Prof. Al for sharing with us your wisdom, surely this course will be one of my core memories. Lastly, thank you Jesus for sustaining me throughout this semester.